American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) executive director Eugene Mopsik has issued a statement strongly implying that the majority of ASMP members who sell stock photography through Getty Images should leave the agency.

The statement says that for most photographers recent changes to the Getty stock photography contract "are not advantageous and should be viewed as an opportune time" for photographers to look for alternate channels to sell their work. Without directly saying so, Mopsik also leaves no doubt that ASMP sees no further point in trying to negotiate with Getty or reverse decisions that Getty has made about how it conducts its stock photography business.

The contract changes that have sparked Mopsik's statement involve Getty's decision to reserve the right to move a photographer's images from rights-managed collections to royalty-free collections, and to offer those images in royalty-free subscription plans.